T.Maximas

[DaveJ]

Hey folks,

I am VERY interested in a T.Maxima I saw at Paragon. Beautiful things.. anyway. The bit of reading I have done on clams says this..

Intense Lighting
Water Quality
No Clam Eaters

=====> leads to them being happy as clams

I understand that clams feed by siphoning water into their bodies, then pushing it out. Guess thats what the term bi-valve means? What do they eat? Plankton?? What extra steps will I need to take to ensure proper health and growth. Also... anyone have any problems with these things??

[Drew]

I've been reading up on clams so I'll tell you what I know. Besides those things which you listed, they also like calmer water. IE, not powerheads around them. Smaller clams feed a lot more by filter-feeding than larger clams do. Larger clams depend more on light for their food. This means that larger clams (2.5 inches+) are easier to keep in captivity. I wish you luck on your clam-keeping adventures, watch out for clam-eating snails!

Drew

P.S. - I thought the term "bivalve" meant "two shells", but the siphon thing makes sense, can somebody clear that up for me? Thanks.

[derosier]

Drewman,

I think that you are correct--bivalve basically means 2 shells. Actually I'm pretty sure that a more acurate translation is "2 halves".

- Steve

[DaveJ]

Which snails are clam eaters???

[Drew]

The snails that eat clams are not the normal snails that you add to your tank. They tiny parasitic snails which sometimes hitch a ride on the clams. They are nocturnal so are hard to see on new clams.

[bill-e]

if you're gonna start with clams, invest in Daniel Knop's Giant Clam book.

What clams need to thrive:
-MH lighting
-Phytoplankton additions daily
-450+ calcium
-pH 8.0-8.2 (mines 8.4+ and doesnt seem to hurt them)
-solid footing. All the clams except t.derasa really need something to attach their foot to, rock, clam shell, whatever. T.maxima is especially suceptable to foot infection if placed directly on the sand.
-Nitrates. you will find your clams love nitrates. around 10 is good and wont hurt the rest of your tank.
-Six Line Wrasse. If you get those pesky parasitic Pyramidellid snails, this wrass will feed on them. Also remove them by hand at night.

[ 06-06-2001: Message edited by: bill-e ]

[Drew]

Quick question: I heard somewhere that a mandarin will eat the parasitic snails too. Is there any truth to this?